There’s a scene in the remarkable new Superman film, “Man of Steel,” where Jonathan Kent, Clark Kent’s adopted Earth dad, speaks to his son about his super-destiny: “You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark. Whoever that man is, he’s going to change the world.”

In a film that was rife with the themes of fatherhood, I felt this exchange summarized the importance of family more than anything else. Pa Kent knows that his mild-mannered son has the capacity to either rule or serve, and while he’s committed to providing Clark with the opportunity to make that decision of his own free will, it is obvious what path of morality he and his wife, Martha, are inching him towards.

This stuff just landed with me and represented some of the most compelling mythology related to Superman, a hero who, let’s face it, can drift towards the milquetoast and the corny because of his invulnerability and tendency to wear his underwear on the outside of his tights.

Even better: I drank the spectacle in with my own dad. That was cool. The two of us catching the 11:00 a.m. showing on Friday, two days before Father’s Day no less. And while my father never had to contend with my ability to bench-press Dumpsters or inadvertently flash freeze our Chihuahua with my super breath, there were times in my life when I absolutely leaned on his support and his words of wisdom.

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And we’re talking in the last few months even. March was a particularly stressful time, as my wife and I were set to move, while simultaneously incorporating a newborn into our lives. Pulling off the move would not have been possible without a full court press from the entire family, in-laws included. What a blessing to have that network, a cadre of kin ready to drop what they’re doing and come help! Heck, as I type this, my father is at my house, carving up a felled tree with his chainsaw, an act I am hugely grateful for, not merely for the fact he’s opening up our driveway for thru traffic, but if I were to try my hand at such logging, I’d promptly run out of hands.

But, I admit, these aren’t world-shaking problems, versus something like this: The Homeless Center for Strafford County, a partner agency of United Way of the Greater Seacoast in Rochester, relates the story of a family of eight that found themselves homeless when the economy led to the parents’ job loss and the eventual foreclosure of their house. The Homeless Center placed them in a transition home and provided case management. Eventually, the parents gained full-time employment, graduated from the transition program and have since moved into a new house that they can afford.

I can only imagine the pressure, the unease. But they got through it. As a family. That is the crux of United Way’s work, the realization of its investments, the fulfillment of its vision for strong communities.

Long since the lights came up in the theater and my time with Krypton and Smallville and Metropolis had been over, and I think about this family from Rochester and I think about my dad and everything he’s meant to me, I realize a simple truth: I don’t need to look across the ocean of stars for exceptional beings. They’re right here, doing what’s necessary, every day, no matter the cost.

And that’s just super, man.

David Johnson is the Director of Marketing and Commumications for United Way of the Greater Seacoast, which serves Rockingham and Strafford Counties and Kittery and Eliot, Maine. Please visit uwgs.org to find out how you can get involved in your community.